OPRF should collect from parents before hitting up taxpayers

Opinion

Tuesday, December 6th, 2005 10:00 PM

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Oak Park and River Forest High School had a student discipline problem during the last couple of years due to many parents being unable to teach discipline to their children. It's a responsibility that parents should take before they send their children out in this world. Nowadays many parents do not take and spend the time with their children as they did years ago when my wife and I raised our three boys.

Now it comes to light that there is over $400,000 in student and other fees outstanding from parents that have children attending OPRF. The responsibility lies with the parents again in seeing that these responsibilities of paying debts for their children are paid in a timely manner. The lack of responsibility of parents disciplining their children, and now paying their fees affects the creditability of our high school.

The responsibility of collecting these student fees and costs for out-of-district students attending our high school falls on the administration. The taxpayers are paying good salaries to persons who should be collecting this money owed to the high school. Responsible parents and responsible school administrators should ease the friction in our high school, and also improve the creditability of OPRF.

To increase the responsibility on the parents' side, maybe we should suspend the students from school when the parents do not do their part. It surely would wake up parents when their child or children are told to go and stay home until their parents pay up.

Then we are told that the high school wants more money for their increasing costs. Collect your money that is owed you first!